gw_guitars Posted July 1, 2003 Report Share Posted July 1, 2003 Hi Guys, I think I need a little help. My first guitar is almost working, BUT I can't get the truss rod to work. I never adjusted a truss rod before so I don't know what to look for. I have another guitar (Gibson) but he plays absolute fine so I don't want to mess with it. It is a bought ESP neck. Fender style. So the adjusting screw is at the bottom. I glued the neck in and left enough place to turn the screw. Now I've got the strings attached and wanted to check the neck. The funny thing is that I believe it is ok now. Maybe I'm lucky. But the screw is not tightened. In other words, I can almost turn the screw by hand. When I turn it clockwise it should stretch the truss rod and bow the neck a little. Nothing happens. When the screw is almost flat with the surface of the neck it stops turning. Should I try to turn it a little further? I don't know how hard I should try because I don't wanna break the truss rod or wreck the adjusting screw. In another thread I read about two way adjustable truss rods. Is this a good idea for my next project? I hope somebody can give me a hint Thanx, Gerard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 yes, make sure you have the right size allen key and put some muscle into it, bending wood with a rod isn't like turning a light on it takes quite a bit of force from my experiences, and yes, double truss rods are always a good idea unless you're **** about having a guitar that weight's less then a pound or 2... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 be careful!you can strip it.that is why it is set up with a small allen screw .sometimes you have to turn it a little and then wait a day or so to let the wood do it's thing.if it is a thin neck you may need to use thinner strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 If the neck seems OK don't mess with it. If you do need to play, a single action rod can only add backbow to a neck. The rod has to work pretty hard to alter the curvature of the neck, and as Wes says (heh... Rhymes )it can take a few days to settle into it's new profile. It is often a good idea to introduce the curve you want to the neck by carefull clamping with carefully placed shims on a flat surfaced. Once the curve is as it needs to be, you can tighten the rod to retain the curve. This elliminates a lot of the stress on the rod which could cause the nut (or god forbid the threaded rod) to strip out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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